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Pages 43-54

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From page 43...
... 43 This Synthesis ties together research topics that have been treated disparately in the past in order to understand how state transportation research programs organize themselves for program quality and value, given their program capabilities and program management attributes. This survey was sent to all Research Program Managers at state DOTs across the country and resulted in 44 responses, an 88% participation rate.
From page 44...
... 44 Managing State Transportation Research Programs Few agencies currently have programmatic responsibilities for staff training or continuing education to disseminate new knowledge, however (Figure 13)
From page 45...
... Survey Results 45 through discussions within the research program itself, or with executive leadership, mid-level managers, or various advisory boards or committees. Many programs feel that more intentional research direction setting is needed within their DOTs.
From page 46...
... 46 Managing State Transportation Research Programs the box depicts the middle 50% results for state agencies. Finally, outliers are depicted by points beyond the whiskers of each graph.
From page 47...
... Survey Results 47 institutionalized approach for most agencies. Technology vendors also assist state transportation research programs by providing technologies to improve processes and construction practices, software support, data hosting, research and deployment ideas, and at times, technology transfer and development on some specific projects.
From page 48...
... 48 Managing State Transportation Research Programs funds from other federal grants, such as Colorado and New York, while others also gain substantial funds from multistate pooled funds. SPR and state funds tend to have wider purposes than other federal sources and multistate pooled funds, which affect what type of research can be funded.
From page 49...
... Survey Results 49 Given the diversity of purposes, responsibilities, funding levels, and ways of sourcing expertise, research programs naturally follow different practices to deliver research throughout the research lifecycle. However, six distinct stages are common across all research: assess needs, select topics, award projects, manage projects, disseminate findings, and implement research (Figure 20)
From page 50...
... 50 Managing State Transportation Research Programs managers may need to balance multidivisional responsibilities while having a clear understanding of the procedural and quality control requirements of research. It is common for non-research DOT staff members to manage the research projects that they request in the research solicitation process, and half of states also use technical panels to help manage the technical aspects of research.
From page 51...
... Survey Results 51 deliver program quality. The last section synthesizes how research programs manage research dissemination and implementation processes to maximize the value of their programs.
From page 52...
... 52 Managing State Transportation Research Programs 2.4 Program Value Program Value is the usefulness of new and enhanced knowledge gained through research and the degree to which it is applied to enhance the transportation system. Research must be intentionally shared with target audiences in tailored methods and then strategically implemented to realize value.
From page 53...
... Survey Results 53 The main barriers to research implementation come in two forms: limited resources for implementation and DOT-wide barriers (Figure 24)
From page 54...
... 54 Managing State Transportation Research Programs program is by no means an easy endeavor, tangible measurements such as cost savings, lives saved, reduction in hours spent, and so on are not the only methods for defining value. Qualitative measures add new dimensions by adding claim to how the research results in lessons learned, improved processes, and new standards and policies that may be more difficult to quantify.

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